FATE: Target of Grand Master

Morgan looked at the blond man with burning eyes and an excited expression, and said irritably, "Do I need to report to you what kind of magic I used? Don't you understand the situation? I can crush you with just a flick of my finger."

"Crush me if you want, just tell me what type of magic trick you used!"

The blond man made a startling statement, but he quickly realized there was something wrong with what he said.

"No, if I get crushed to death, I won't be able to do my research. Let's change the terms. As long as you don't kill me or leave me with missing limbs, everything else is negotiable."

Morgan was stunned. She suddenly felt like she was talking to a madman, the kind of person whose individual sentences seemed logical, but when put together, they were completely incomprehensible.

Seeing Morgan's expression change from displeasure to disgust, Xia Yan picked up the conversation.

"Mr. Augustus, if you want to be freed, tell me about the situation here first. I can see that things aren't going well here..."

Seeing that Augustus hadn't even turned his head to him, and was still looking at Morgan with a thirst for knowledge, Xia Yan also stopped talking.

"The Petrifying Demon Eye!"

Without any warning, Augustus felt the restraints on his body tighten even further.

If before he felt that his body was bound by an invisible external force and he could not move, now he felt that his body had become numb and stiff, as if it was no longer under his control.

Augustus finally turned his gaze to Xia Yan, but before he could speak, he turned into a stone statue.

"Morgan, depetrify the part of him from the neck up."

Although Xia Yan activated the "Petrifying Demon Eye," he could not control which part of the opponent would be petrified and which part would not at will. Once used, the opponent would definitely be turned into a complete stone statue. Therefore, unless he had the intention to kill the opponent or wanted to punish them, Xia Yan would not immediately activate his demon eye.

However, Morgan was quite pleased with Xia Yan's behavior.

Even though she is the Queen of Winter, she is still a woman at heart. What woman wouldn't like her man to stand up for her?

This has nothing to do with the difference in strength between the two parties. In other words, even if your man is not as strong as you, he is still willing to stand up for you. Doesn't that better reflect how much he values ​​you?

As soon as Xia Yan finished speaking, Morgan did as he was told, then quietly took two steps back and stood behind Xia Yan, silently watching his performance.

Having just recovered from the petrification of his head, Augustus's eyes burned with intense fervor as he said to Xia Yan, "Your ability is quite interesting. I'll have to try getting a new Magic Eye later. Wait, there doesn't seem to be a direct way to exchange for Magic Eyes in the shop. How did you obtain yours? Could you tell me?"

Xia Yan was speechless when he saw Augustus's appearance.

This guy doesn't listen to anything anyone says; he's completely self-centered.

However, there are ways to deal with this kind of guy.

Xia Yan shut his mouth, and the air immediately became quiet.

After a moment, Augustus couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "Why won't you answer me?"

Xia Yan raised his eyebrows, but did not speak.

He wanted the other person to experience what it felt like to have their words ignored.

Augustus, clearly unable to bear the atmosphere, said, "It's fine if you don't want to talk, just let me leave. I have many important things to do."

This time, Xia Yan not only didn't reply to him, but even had Morgan conjure up several chairs so that he and the servants could sit down and chat together.

Augustus was completely ignored by them, as if he were invisible.

"Hey! Let me go! My time is precious. Do you know how much research progress I'll be delayed by in just a little while?"

Seeing that Augustus's face had turned red and his emotions were no longer as calm as before, Xia Yan also felt that the time was about right.

He turned to Augustus and slowly uttered four words: "None of my business!"

Augustus was completely stunned.

He didn't understand why the other party was targeting him like this. Wasn't he supposed to defeat Surut? Shouldn't he be on his side?

Never mind, none of that matters. The most important thing right now is to get them to release me.

"Something terrible has happened! Mr. Augustus, dozens of giants have appeared around the village, and they seem to be heading towards it."

A villager who was on guard duty at the village entrance rushed into the tent and then found the atmosphere inside to be somewhat strange.

Augustus was startled and asked, "I remember the village should have had a barrier to protect against giants, has it disappeared?"

Otrind, who had been trying to ease the tension but was also the least intelligent among them, said, "The barrier protecting the village from the giants is still there, but because the great goddess Skadi is very weak, the barrier's effectiveness is starting to weaken. There are more humans in the village than before, and their aura is beginning to leak out. If the great goddess Skadi doesn't awaken soon, this barrier may not last much longer."

"This is troublesome."

Augustus was silent for a moment, then suddenly looked at Xia Yan and said, "Xia Yan, your servants are very strong. I'll leave those giants outside to you."

Xia Yan raised his eyebrows again. He realized that Augustus's behavior had been consistent throughout, which meant that he was not intentionally acting so arrogant, but rather that he was naturally self-centered.

The good news is that the other party is not targeting me intentionally; the bad news is that the other party is targeting everyone equally.

These kinds of people aren't bad, but they can still be annoying. So, Xia Yan had no intention of indulging them and replied, "Why should I listen to you?"

Augustus blinked, seemingly not quite understanding why Xia Yan would say that.

"Aren't we on the same side?"

Hearing Augustus's words, Xia Yan was amused.

He discovered that Augustus was indeed not good at communication. Combined with his decadent appearance, his focus on time, and his thirst for knowledge about the unsolved problems, an extreme stereotype of a scientific researcher emerged.

"Augustus, has anyone ever told you that you're bad at communicating?"

Augustus thought for a moment and replied without hesitation, "It seems that someone did say that about me before, but I'm not interested in things that don't help with scientific research."

Okay, the stereotypes are even more deeply ingrained now.

Xia Yan sighed; Augustus's answer was entirely within his expectations.

"Morgan, could you please take care of this and repair the barrier around this village while you're at it?"

Morgan stood up and said to Otlind, who was standing to the side with a worried look on her face, "Valkyrie, come with me."

Otlind pointed to herself, seemingly surprised, but still obediently followed. After all, the other party possessed magic power comparable to the great goddess Skadi. Although she probably didn't need her support, there might be other areas where she needed her help.

What Ottlinde didn't know was that Morgan had called her out for no reason that she needed her help. Rather, she called Ottlinde out simply because she didn't want her to act as a peacemaker and disturb Xia Yan.

Based on her understanding of Xia Yan, she believed that Xia Yan would not do anything too outrageous to Augustus, but that guy's appearance was really annoying, and someone had to make him realize this.

If they still don't realize it, then we'll have to increase the intensity.